News about Lukas Podolski

A former Arsenal and Germany star looked unrecognisable, posing for a picture posted on their Instagram account. The forward in question recently hung up their boots for good after a storied career at the top of the game, having led the line at some of the biggest clubs in Europe for 21 years.  Among the honours in the player's bulging trophy cabinet are winners-medals from the German top-flight, FA Cup, World Cup and titles from Japan and Turkey - the true marks of a successful journeyman career. 

A former Arsenal star bid a teary adieu to his 21-year playing career after the final whistle on a testimonial match at his boyhood club.  The 39-year-old enjoyed a trophy-laden two decades featuring at a host of top clubs including the Premier League titans, winning the Bundesliga, FA Cup, and 2014 World Cup with Germany ten years ago.  Emotions ran high when Lukas Podolski returned to Cologne on Thursday evening, whose youth ranks he had joined in 2003, and where he made 81 appearances before making his first big move to Bayern Munich. 

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: There is a buzz around the terminal at Cologne Bonn Airport. Lukas Podolski has just landed in his private jet - a Cessna CJ1 - and word is spreading that he will be having lunch at his new kebab restaurant in the arrivals area. He is a hero in these parts. Having left Poland for Germany as a child, he joined Cologne's youth team at the age of 10. This is where he cut his teeth. It is where he impersonated the Brazilian Ronaldo on the streets, before winning a World Cup of his own for Germany. An eager crowd has formed. Podolski signs autographs and stops for selfies before stepping into the kitchen. 'I hope you are hungry!' he says, picking up a giant carving knife. Slicing off half a pound of doner meat, he stuffs it into a fresh pitta bread and we dig in. Now 38, Podolski plays for Gornik Zabrze in the Polish first division, back in the tough mining town where he was born.

Lukas Podolski, the former Arsenal star, is worth £177.5 million after establishing his own company empire. Since joining the Gunners in 2012, the 38-year-old forward scored 31 goals in 82 appearances. After stints with Turkish club Galatasaray and Japanese club Vissel Kobe, he is now playing for Gornik Zabrze in the Polish top-flight.

Arsenal flocked to Liverpool on Saturday for a top-of-the-table match, as the team looks to bring an end to their 11-year hoodoo at Anfield. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski are the last players to have scored in an Arsenal victory at Liverpool's iconic stadium in September 2012. Since then, they have been getting accustomed to Anfield's miserable return journey, with no one winning any of their last ten trips to the ground.

After angrily attacking one of the referees, former Arsenal player Lukas Podolski was sent off during his own charity football tournament. With his current side Górnik Zabrze, the ex-Germany international was competing in the Schauinsland Reisen Cup, facing five other European teams on an indoor pitch. Podolski has been involved in the campaign for many years, but the former Gunner's semi-final match against Rot-Weiss Essen took a turn for the worse for him.